Eddie Jackson (chef)

Eddie Paul Jackson Jr. (born December 19, 1980) is an American chef and former football cornerback. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football for Arkansas. He is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Eddie Jackson
Born
Eddie Paul Jackson Jr.

(1980-12-19) December 19, 1980
Americus, Georgia, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Arkansas
Children1[1]
Culinary career
Television show(s)
Football career
No. 34, 35, 20, 29
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College:Arkansas
Undrafted:2004
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Jackson was also a member of the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Washington Redskins.

College career

In college, Jackson started 21 of 47 games at both the cornerback and strong safety slots for the Arkansas Razorbacks and totaled 174 tackles, 35 passes defensed, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. He also ran the high hurdles for the national champion Razorback track team. Jackson was also a College All-American in Track and Field where he won four national titles. He still holds the freshman record for the 110 high hurdles.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Jackson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers in 2004.

Miami Dolphins

He spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and ended his last year on injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in a December 25 contest.

Due in part to his injury, Jackson was not tendered a contract by the Dolphins as a restricted free agent.

New England Patriots

On March 19, 2007, Jackson signed a two-year deal with the New England Patriots. The contract contained no signing bonus, and base salaries of $1,510,000 in 2007 and $1,605,000 in 2008. He was released by the Patriots during the 2007 season.[2]

Washington Redskins

Jackson was signed by the Washington Redskins during the 2008 offseason, but was released on June 5.

MasterChef and Food Network

After retiring from football, Jackson became a personal trainer, as well as owning a food truck, Caribbean Grill, in Houston. Cooking had been a lifelong passion of his.[3]

Jackson first gained culinary notoriety as he competed on Season 4 of the reality cooking competition show MasterChef in 2013, finishing in seventh place.[4]

Jackson then competed on Season 11 of the Food Network series Food Network Star in 2015,[3] and won the season, beating out eleven other contestants.[5]

As a reward for winning Food Network Star, Jackson got his own Food Network cooking competition series, BBQ Blitz, in which contestants competed to create the best barbecue dish; Jackson served as the host. The show ran for six episodes in late 2015.[6] Since 2016 he has hosted the Food Network cooking competition series Kids BBQ Championship. For the first season in 2016 his co-host was model Camila Alves, while for the 2nd season in 2017 his co-host was fellow Food Network Star winner (season 9) Damaris Phillips.[7][8] He also infrequently served as a judge on Clash of the Grandmas.[9] Jackson is the current host of Christmas Cookie Challenge on the Food Network, as well as one of the judges.[10] Jackson has also appeared on Chopped as a judge.[11] In 2021, he was a team captain of BBQ Brawl competing against Bobby Flay and Michael Symon. Jackson also served as a judge on seasons 11 and 12 of Halloween Wars.

He is currently the host of Outchef’d on the Food Network as well as the host of Christmas Cookie Challenge (2022) with co-host Ree Drummond Food Network. He also serves as a judge on the Food Network show “[Supermarket Stakeout]”.

References
  1. "Possessed Toys". Halloween Wars. September 19, 2021. Event occurs at 32:25. Food Network. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  2. Reiss, Mike (2007-12-19). "At linebacker, fantastic 4". Boston.com. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  3. Cash, Rana L. For Eddie Jackson, Food Network Star door swings open after NFL door closed, Sporting News, June 24, 2015, Retrieved 2015-06-24
  4. Nogle, Kevin. Former Dolphins DB Eddie Jackson eliminated from Master Chef, The Phinsider, August 1, 2013, Retrieved 2015-06-24
  5. Cash, Rana L. (August 16, 2015). "Eddie Jackson goes from NFL to "Food Network Star" winner | NFL | Sporting News". Sporting News. Sporting News Media. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  6. "BBQ Blitz Episodes".
  7. "Kids BBQ Championship" – via www.foodnetwork.com.
  8. "Kids BBQ Championship (TV Series 2016– )". IMDb. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  9. "Food Network to Premiere New Series CLASH OF THE GRANDMAS, 11/13". Broadway World. Wisdom Digital Media. November 13, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  10. "Food Network Decks The Halls Across Platforms This Holiday Season With More Than 35 New and Returning Holiday Series, Specials, Themed Episodes : Discovery Press Web". press.discovery.com.
  11. "Food Network star's journey from NFL to chef". NFL.com. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
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